Is this week 4? Aren’t I supposed to be keeping track of these things?

I honestly hit a bump in the workout schedule last week . . . I was overly tired. Like so tired, that one day at school, I had to go to the staff lounge and lay down on the *clean couch. * I’ve been at this school for 4 years now, and I’ve never seen anyone clean it. I still taught spinning for my 6:00am Wednesday class, but I just wasn’t feeling IT last week.

Paul and I went out for a couple of hikes on the weekend and after he had dragged me kicking and screaming out the door (all I felt like doing was sleeping) I felt so much better. Fresh air, sunshine, Paul time, Ruby time.

I had a terrible day today.

I’m not trying to be a Debbie Downer, I am getting to a point here. Stick with it if you can!

All day at school it seemed my kids had forgotten everything, and I was starting over at square one. When I got home from school, I tried to hurry and bake Angel Food Cookies for a party that I am hosting tomorrow night, ended up under baking all of them . . . except seven. I sure hope only seven people show up tomorrow!

I have time and time again learned DO NOT BAKE IN A RUSH! Why did I not listen to my own advice today?

THEN (because I’m not done yet), I went down to the gym to teach a class that I was subbing for, and the regular instructor was there. So basically we had to play rock, paper, scissors to see who would get the class. It obviously isn’t a big deal, but you know when you’re just having one of THOSE days that it seems like such a bigger deal. Anyway, my coworker let me teach the class, since my name was on the schedule, even though it was his regular timeslot. Thanks

Here is where the day got GREAT. I taught a fabulous class, worked myself and everybody hard. The class was full, 14 bikes were taken and as an instructor it is so much fun to teach to a big group. I got to feed off of their energy . . . and as they peddled along, cranking their tensions, changing their speeds, I felt the stressors of the day fade away.

That is the best ENDORPHIN there is. A fresh, clean start. Feels. Oh. So. Good.

So that was the spin class, I’ll post the play list later in the week.

Week Four (weight increase)

I took the Reverse Drop Sets out this week, and I traded them in for 3 sets of 12 reps for all moves.

Lower Body

Quadriceps – Squats with stability ball again the wall

This week I am using 3 different squat positions

Regular

(feet shoulder width apart)

Pilé

(feet shoulder width apart, toes pointed out at 90 degrees)

Knees and Feet Together

(one tight line from your feet to your hips)

Hamstrings- Leg Curls with the Stability Ball

Lay on your back, place heels up on the ball, lift bum off the ground and pull heels and ball toward you bum.

Reverse Leg Curl (works butt and back)

Laying prone (on your stomach, arms crossed in front of you) with stability ball between your lower legs, squeeze the ball and curl up towards your butt. Hold for 2 counts, and lower back to the floor. For an extra challenge, lift hips off the ground during the 2 count hold. Another extension of this activity is to hold the ball above your butt and squeeze the ball with your legs 4 times before lowering it back to the ground.

Calves – Calf Raises on Step

This move, I did 3 sets of 25.

So if you read my Debbie Downer note to start the post, I hope you were able to see what a difference a simple workout can do for your mental health. Obviously working out provides you with a physical change, but what we sometimes forget is how great it can be for us mentally.

Do you have days like these?What do you do about it? I’d love to hear from you.